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Lawmakers Scold Maker of ‘Cocaine’ Drink

Outraged New York City lawmakers denounced the manufacturer of a new, highly caffeinated soft drink called Cocaine yesterday and called for a boycott of the beverage, saying it glamorized an illegal and deadly stimulant that has ravaged families and neighborhoods since the epidemic of the 1980’s.

“There are only two reasons that you would seek to use this infamous and insidious name to market your so-called energy drink,” said Councilman James Sanders Jr. of Queens, who organized a news conference at City Hall. “Either you are woefully ignorant of the horrors of cocaine addiction, or your god is the dollar bill, and not even human life is more sacred.”

The beverage has attracted considerable publicity, most of it negative, since it was introduced last month by its manufacturer, Redux Beverages L.L.C., in southern California. The company’s Web site lists five retailers that sell the beverage — all of them in or around New York City. It is also available in Los Angeles and San Diego.

While the site states that “we don’t advocate drug use,” it suggests that the carbonated beverage be mixed with alcohol — offering recipes for cocktails with names like Liquid Cocaine, Cocaine Smash, Cocaine Blast and even Cocaine Snort. The site promotes the beverage’s page on MySpace, the heavily trafficked social-networking Internet site that is popular among children and teenagers.

Joseph A. Califano Jr., chairman and president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, used five adjectives — insidious, disgraceful, irresponsible, reprehensible and disgusting — to describe the drink.

In a statement, Mr. Califano, who was secretary of health, education and welfare in the Carter administration, said it was “clearly aimed at children and teen ‘partygoers.’ ”

The beverage is a competitor with so-called energy drinks like Red Bull. According to the Cocaine site (drinkcocaine.com), the beverage, sold in 8.4-ounce cans, has three times more caffeine per ounce than Red Bull and similar beverages like Rockstar Juiced, Full Throttle, Monster Energy and Bawls.

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A new energy drink on the market called "Cocaine" has been criticized by several members of the City Council.Credit
Marilynn K. Yee/The New York Times

“This is a salted, heavily caffeinated, sugary drink with extra calories that nobody needs,” said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, after reviewing the nutritional label on the Cocaine beverage. “It’s a souped-up Gatorade. This product has minimal nutritional value.”

Redux Beverages, founded by James T. and Hannah H. Kirby, is registered in Las Vegas and located in Murrieta, Calif.

Mr. Kirby, 42, a former software executive who was in New York City yesterday to promote his product, said in a telephone interview, “I think most people are smart, and they know the difference between an energy drink and a Class A narcotic.” He said of the name, “There’s a lot of irony and wordplay.”

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The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., quoted Mr. Kirby last month as saying, “I chose the name because I knew it would be controversial, and controversy sells.” He said the criticism was coming from “super-right-wing groups” and added, “I think kids are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.”

But at the City Hall news conference, Mr. Sanders and three other lawmakers — all Democrats — offered withering criticism.

“This is the height of irresponsibility for any company,” said Assemblyman Karim Camara of Brooklyn.

Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn called the beverage “a legal precursor to an illegal product,” while Councilman Larry B. Seabrook of the Bronx likened it to “imitation cigarettes, which caused generations upon generations to become smokers.”

They called on the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Consumer Affairs to investigate the safety of the beverage, but the authority to do so may be limited. Professor Nestle said that because the energy drinks had been billed as dietary supplements rather than food items, they had eluded regulation by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Whether the calls for a boycott will be heeded is unclear. Rupert Jee, owner of Hello Deli in Midtown, one of the five retailers listed on the Cocaine Web site, said, “They did, in fact, list our name without authorization.” But Mr. Jee said he was inclined to continue selling the beverage.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B3 of the New York edition with the headline: Lawmakers Scold Maker of ‘Cocaine’ Drink. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe